Angouleme 2011! People I met, books they gave me (and I bought too) are for me the most interesting part of this amazing festival in this amazing, cold and strange french city. 48.000 residents in 4 days of comics become more than 200.000!
The pavillion is air-conditioned and people can stay in t-shirt...everything is under control, the organization is fantastic and is the best place to do our things. But why the hell to have the festival in January?????
This year my friend Adriano Barone, the Demon's writer, was my escort! What an escort! The best one! Not only because is more informed than me about french market, but also because he introduced me in so many things I didn't know notwithstanding it was for me the third time as exibitors. I was very lucky!
So thanx a lot Adriano!
Before to present the pile of volume I took back from there I wanna underline the talent of Manuele Fior, a friend of mine ^_^ ciao Manuele!, that won the Grand Prize in Angouleme: Le Fauve D'Or for his fascinating "5000 Km/s"....many many compliments to you! The French Cultural Minister introduced the prize pointing out how many italian talents are enriching the Bd national cultural market! W l'Italie! Not only for whores we are recognized by other countries.
Besides many compliments of people from Arbitraire....their antology issue #9 won this year the Alternative Prize....clap clap!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I said I met a lot of people: customers bought Passenger Books ( the Passenger Album Limited Edition 2009 still rules over all and is in about to be sold out-only 50 copies are remained!!), artists showed me their portfolios, indie publishers talked and confronted their experiences with me, a long list of lives and art that I'm explaining and shortly reporting to you, my 25 readers.
B.A.S.T.A.R.D.S. from UK.British Artists Standing Tall And Reaching Distant Shores were our right neighbors...so funny, so happy and so kind with me and Adriano, with everybody...they self publish their comics and Francesca Cassavetti is the woman behind this very underground project. Silly and humor comics with a naive sign. Unluckly it seems that there is not a collective site as Bastards, but under L.U.C.: London Underground Comics. Oh, it's clear that they like a lot acronyms. ^__^' A big hug to all of you, ladies and gentleman! Also to The Terrorist!
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Centro Fumetto Andrea Pazienza from Italy.
Michele Ginevra and his gang were our left neighbors....they were the info point for italian artists ( and we are well placed)....I nominee above all Francesca Follini because she was tireless and drew dedicaces and free sketches to everyone....we are still waiting that she finally starts to work for Marvel, DC or whatever great publisher.
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Special Comix from China.Zhang, the editor of this special group on artists presented the fourth volume of their anthology. This book, confronting the third issue of 640 pages that won the alternative prize in 2010, is less rich but 430 pages I think are enough to show how alive and pulsating is the wave and creativity those still amaze me with strange, differents and disturbing stories to absolutely read and to have in your fucking library. Thanx guys for your friendship! And thanx also to Storyof for his splendid "Flowers & Birds"! Against chinese censorship!
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Compendium of Romanian Comic Art form Romania.Matei Branea was the crazy front man of the representative of an interesting, very interesting project of many young authors - The Book of George - those do not have to envy anyone of other famous comic book creators of Europe...above all the project and the book, with colourful and B/W stories was free because was financed by The Romanian Cultural Institute through The cantemir Programme...Shame on you, Italy! Oh poor Italy!
I include also "Hardcomics #7", another antology so nice and so well edited!
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Oh c'mon....I bought only fucking beautiful stuff!!!
Chili Com Carne from Portugal.I could embrace again that BIG man called Pepe, publisher of El Pep and Marcos, the responsible of the association CCC....I like a lot them and I think they publish a lot of great stuff....first of all "Destruicao!" ( CCC's new last book with a super skully cover and many so differents artists) and the super funny books of El Pep, "Marco Anormal" by Tercio De Vina....very kool! And lastly the second volume of "Mocifao" by Nuno Duarte that also if in portuguese-I don't completely understand it- is really really amusement!!!
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"Fjorden" By Alvaro Ortiz from Spain.Alvaro is a spanish artist and passing by our stand he showed me his stuff...so beautiful that I could not help but buy Fjorden because is a super little comic colourful, well printed, without words and is drawn with the class and maturity of a great pros.
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Rotopolpress and The Treasure Fleet from Germany.Ines Christine Geißer, a german artist that won the second prize in Slow Comics Best Fanzine Award on September 2010 in Monza introduced me his teutonic friends. Firstly I met Michael Meier and Lisa Röper of Rotopolpress from Kassel. Well, they are young publishers with a real great stilish taste, they have an indie shop too and in particular I was so lucky to get a copy of two new books by Lisa: "Moratz" and above all "Polarreise" testify that she can quitely work with a great national or international publisher and you have absolutely give a look to Rotopolpress site.'Nuff said!
From The Treasure Fleet people I bought the hypnotic "Lepidopter" by the great artist Sharmila Banerjee. Wow! It's an amazing book with magical colours, a simple dreamy story that captures you. Very fascinating!
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L'employè du Moi from Belgium.This little indie comics publisher is composed by various talented artists and they have a rich catalogue of little treasures....here's two of these:
"Polyominos" was printed in 2007 but i discovered it only now....20 short stories of 20 young authors divided in 20 little frames repeated moving the order of the frames.
"Airpussy" by Ulli Lust s a little square comic that tells of a pretty woman that discovers to fly masturbating.....oh oh oh! Great!
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"Sonata #1" by Giacomo Sargenti is a self published comic by an italian young artist from Accademy of Fine Art of Brera- Milano....another friend that is artistically growing very fast with a very original style! Many compliments!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kotoji Editions from France.They are young, full of passion and the road is really long. Keep on working and mantain that energy that Abdesselam Boutadjine, the cartoonist of "Team Handball", showed me talking a lot about comics and life. Inspired by Slam Dunk this first number is still unripe, but all the authors and the publisher is young, so they can certainly do always better and grow a lot! I like them! Thumb up!
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"2600 years ago" by Lai tat tat wing from Hong Kong.Lai is published on the pages of Kush! from Latvia and his short stories are original, full of strange humor and personally I am waiting for a graphic novel by him....this little book contains a colourful and powerfull story inspired by the Buddha figure....I am one of the lucky person to have a copy of this.....sorry for people don't get it!
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Last but not leasta big applause to Giuseppe Manunta that didn't stop to do dedicaces. Tireless he continued to alternate between the stand of Tabou, his french publisher and our boot, illustrating copies of his new art book "Fantasy Pin-Art" by Nuvoloso Association. He is a great class artist, notwithstanding his heart football team is Napoli. Nobody is perfect!
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Pointing out that also we distribuited the comics of Kush! from Latvia, the amazing art of Sam Hiti and the vintage t-shirts of Atomic Rocket, I wanna thanx all the kind people those stopped at our stand, like the super kind Claire form Turnaround Publisher Service from Uk, our friends of Nobrow, Cristina Portolano, Alessandro Fusari, Luca Blengino - a young italian writer that works really well for french market, the lovely Tim Fish, Eve Deluze of Fremok from Belgium, Alain Poncelet, Gemma Sheldrake, Martina and his beautiful dog Sheep, Joana Pereira de Miranda, Marta Nawrocka, Pierre Sery of Kotoji, Fabrizio Dori, Beatrice, Damien Reynaud, Stephane Duval of Le Lezard Noir, Matteo Stefanelli and many many others those I don't remember....sorry,sniff ^__^'
See you on the next year(!!!!!)
The Future is Indie!!!
